Blinking safety light sign to be installed soon at site of dangerous Dover crosswalk

By Michelle Kingston

mkingston@fosters.com

Thursday, January 10, 2013

DOVER — The city's crosswalk at the junction of Third and Chestnut Streets has received a lot of negative attention between a death of a mother in 2006 and an accident involving a young woman last summer.

On Wednesday, City Manager Michael Joyal announced at the City Council meeting that a lighted midblock crosswalk sign, which was ordered shortly after Dover resident Jaclyn Cote told her story about being hit by a vehicle in the crosswalk, has been delivered.

Joyal expects the sign to be installed by the end of the week.

The goal of the midblock crosswalk sign is to slow vehicles down on the street and alert them to crossing pedestrians.

“It is solar powered and will illuminate and provide a blinking yellow warning to drivers and warn them that a pedestrian is crossing,” Joyal said, adding that the city will also be installing additional pedestrian signs.

The midblock crosswalk sign and pedestrian signs will be located by the end of the railroad tracks. These tracks and the hill on Chestnut Street are two of the reasons why this crosswalk has become notoriously dangerous.

Just a few days ago, the children and husband of Cathy Allen, a Dover resident who was killed crossing this street more than six years ago, spoke out about how hard it has been to move on from losing their loved one at this particular location.

The Allens have been working to raise awareness and safety at this crosswalk by promoting Cote's petition, which she created after spending weeks in physical therapy after she broke her tibia, fibula and fractured her pelvis and sacrum as a result of her accident.

The petition, located at www.ipetitions.com/petition/dover-crosswalk, currently has 934 online signatures, 724 signatures over Cote's initial goal. Cote created the petition in hopes of bringing the idea of a pedestrian push button to the attention of residents.

The midblock crosswalk sign is not the same as a pedestrian push button, but Joyal added that a local engineering firm has contacted the city with interest in working at no cost to figure out how to best configure and design Dover's crosswalks.

At the time of Allen's accident and in the fall of 2012, a street light in the same location of the crosswalk was reportedly out. Joyal confirmed the light has been fixed, and was addressed immediately after Cote's accident.